Holy Name Cathedral reopens for weekend services

Work to repair ceiling will continue during week

August 31, 2008|By Monique Garcia, Tribune reporter

Parishioners flooded into Holy Name Cathedral for evening mass Saturday, excited to return to their home church six months after the 133-year-old building was forced to close for repairs when a section of the ornate hand-carved ceiling came crashing down.

It was a homecoming of sorts for Caralyn and Gerald Migely, who were married in the cathedral about a month before it closed.

The couple has been attending weekly mass in the cathedral's parish center ever since, but it just hasn't been the same.

"This is our community," Caralyn Migely said on the cathedral steps.

"These are the people we see all the time. It's great to be back."

The cathedral at State and Superior Streets opened for the first time Saturday for weekend masses and weddings but will remain closed during the week for ongoing repairs.

On Feb. 12, an 8-pound chunk of decorative woodwork fell 70 feet from the ceiling onto a pew. No one was hurt, and a plywood canopy was quickly erected to protect the pews and altar from falling debris.

Officials had hoped mass could go on while the ceiling was inspected, but another piece fell soon afterward and engineers advised that the building be closed.

Officials had hoped the cathedral, which serves as the seat of the Archdiocese of Chicago, would open by Easter Sunday, but engineers needed more time to repair the church's ceiling trusses.

Archdiocese spokeswoman Susan Burritt said it's unclear when the building will reopen full time.

"Our main focus is safety and security," Burritt said. "At this point there's no timetable. It will be closed as long as it takes."

Looking up from the pews Saturday, the only noticeable changes were four tension bars crossing the ceiling near the front of the seating area and the addition of four inset medallions.

The largest has the image of a phoenix -- part of the crest of the archdiocese and a symbol of the cathedral's rebirth.